Pollen fossils from Antarctic’s warmer days [video]

By studying fossilized grains of pollen, researchers have reconstructed the climate history of the Antarctic Peninsula, which gave up its vegetation about 12 million years ago. Scientists are studying the region because it has warmed significantly in recent decades.

The rapid decline of glaciers along the peninsula has led to widespread speculation about how the rest of the continent’s ice sheets will react to rising global temperatures.

“The best way to predict future changes in the behavior of Antarctic ice sheets and their influence on climate is to understand their past,” says John Anderson, marine geologist at Rice University and the study’s lead author.